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When Illinois coach Ron Turner looks at his freshmen, he sees a rainbow at the end of this 1-6 season. Turner says the group of freshman offensive linemen he is redshirting is “the best I’ve been around in 27 years of coaching–they’re big, they’re strong and they’re physical, but right now it’s too late to get them involved.” . . . “We play against them every day [in practice] and you can tell they’re a special group of guys in a couple of years,” starting defensive tackle Ryan Matha said of those linemen. Matha is most impressed with James Ryan, a 6-foot-6-inch 300-pounder from Batavia High School, and Martin O’Donnell, a 6-5, 290-pounder from Downers Grove South.

– Saturday at Michigan, 11 a.m., WCIU-Ch. 26